ChimpReports

Two Arrested With 35kg Ivory in Arua District

Police in Arua District are holding two men who were arrested with 35.2 kilograms of pure elephant Ivory.

Swadiq Atidra 57, case a Muezzin (A person who calls others for prayers in a mosque) and Muzamir Loju 44, for sale a watchman at the same mosque all Ugandan citizens were arrested by the Police flying squad with help from the Natural Resource Conservation Network (NRCN).

The two were arrested during a transaction at their office adjacent to Muktal mosque.

The suspects came along with 35.2 kilograms of Ivory to the would-be buyers. Upon reaching an agreement, for sale the buyer was to pay 14,080,000 Uganda shillings.

They are currently being interrogated from Arua Central Police Station and a case file has been opened.

NRCN Legal officer, Maureen Ninsiima said they will be charged with unlawful possession of Elephant tasks, contrary to Sections 30 and 75 (b) of the Uganda Wildlife Act CAP 200.

According to the Act, the offence is punishable by not more than 5 years imprisonment and in any case the fine must be not less than the value of the wildlife product involved.

Ivory remains a major source of funding for rebels and terrorists all over Africa, from Somalia to the central and West African countries.

West Nile Region Police Commander, SSP Saiga Ibrahim, Poaching is one of the rampant crimes in the region. He however notes that the police are trying to fight the crime through community policing.

Saiga appealed to the residents to stop the act of poaching or dealing in wildlife products.

Meanwhile the O.C CID Arua says that the police are using fake transactions to investigate and effect the arrests.

According to the Police Spokesperson West Nile region SP Angucia Josephine, police is still carrying out investigations to confirm where these two got the contraband.

Some 30,000 African elephants are illegally killed each year for their ivory tusks, mainly to satisfy demand in the Asian market for products coveted as a traditional medicine or as status symbols.

Uganda is a key transit country for the illegal trade, especially from Congo’s huge forests.